


Lovers are Lunatics

by Itsreallynotthatcomplicated



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - After College/University, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Professors, Fluff, Gen, Multi, and nothing else matters, i struggle to write it, just sweet interactions thats all this is, levi and mikasa are related cause i wanted dad!levi interactions, levi is a reentry student and hange is a professor because thats the dynamic i wanted, ratings change as we go i guess?, rot your teeth out fluff, shameless fluff, some really light smut, theres also some really minor eremika and armin/jean, this is self indulgent feeling porn basically
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:00:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26382286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Itsreallynotthatcomplicated/pseuds/Itsreallynotthatcomplicated
Summary: Hange and Levi are lab mates and the crazy scientist starts to grow on him. She's got a sad history and he's too emotionally awkward to properly deal with his feelings. They understand each other anyway and shenanigans ensue. This is a soft epilogue for people who've had hard stories.
Relationships: Levi & Hange Zoë, Levi Ackerman/Hange Zoë, Levi/Hange Zoë, Levi/Hanji Zoe, LeviHan
Comments: 7
Kudos: 51





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I started this long before I’d read the Chapter That Shall Not Be Named and I wasn’t going to publish it because it was just a therapeutic writing exercise but I feel like we can all use some low-stakes, soft levihan rn, so please enjoy and feel free to comment any ideas or critiques, and im getting better with the formatting!

She was almost always in the lab, no matter what time of the night he went. He saw her in the halls sometimes, rushing between buildings. She was closer to his age than to the rest of the students they worked with and they gravitated toward each other because the slang that the kids in the lab used went over their heads and they could laugh at each other’s confused faces. Turned out Hange wasn’t a student; she was an adjunct professor, a title that shocked Levi, she seemed too young to already be teaching, but she was always there, researching and leading projects full of eager undergrads, preferring their excitement over the superiority complexes of the grad students. He had to agree with her on that, every grad student he’d ever met needed a solid kick in the teeth to knock them down a few pegs. They were rarely the smartest in the room, just the most annoying, and they tended to avoid him. 

Hange liked the grump who showed up like clockwork three times a week in her lab. He worked on a separate project for a different professor, Moblit if she remembered correctly. He wouldn’t stay as late as her but sometimes they were the only two left in the lab and they bonded over old coffee and vending machine snacks. She always liked the older students, they were motivated and passionate in a different way, and they took their work far more seriously. She also thought it was adorable that he studied botany and worked in his uncle’s flower shop. He was a melancholy man, but he seemed to lighten up around her, at least as far as she could tell. His crass humour and sharp tongue never failed to make Hange laugh. 

They’d gotten kicked out of the lab by some safety inspectors and decided to get coffee while they waited. Hange stared at Levi, he was holding his cup in the weirdest way, like he was worried someone was going to roofie his decaf green tea. 

“You think they’ll shut the lab down?” Levi looked at her, mildly anxious about the state of his project.

“Oh nah, they do this every couple months just to make sure we’re not making hallucinogens.”

“Isn’t that exactly what you’re doing?”

“Yep!” she grinned and he shook his head. She wasn’t concerned apparently, even though he knew they’d been giving rats high doses of shrooms for weeks. He didn’t know why, the molecular shit went right over his head, but her team seemed excited. She laughed at his expression and he had to look away because the twinkle in her eye made his heart stutter. 

She pulled his teacup towards her and peered in.

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to see what's in here that makes you hold your cup so weird.” she had pulled her glasses off again and was legitimately examining the mug. The tiniest of smiles pulled at the corner of his mouth. He pulled it back and picked it up in the oddest way she’d seen and sipped the tea. She looked him dead in the eye, picked up her own mug and mimed him. She had drained the cup almost as soon as she’d gotten it which was one of the only times a caffeine addiction helped her because it slipped right out of her fingers. Levi had catlike reflexes though and caught it before it even hit the table. She laughed again and he decided he wasn’t going to fight that terrifying stutter in his chest anymore. He was gonna stick around this mess of a woman and the weird things she innocently did to make his breath hitch. 

-_-_-_-_

“Ok, shitty-glasses, my turn to ask invasive questions,” she gestured towards him encouragingly, they were at some bar with her lab team, Levi dragged along with them after Hange begged for company that could hold their alcohol. She’d been pestering him with questions that he gave only vague answers to and he was desperate to change the subject.

“What's that chord you wear around your neck?” she smiled gently and pulled it out from under her shirt. On it were two gold rings, one much larger than the other. 

“Wedding bands, mine and my husband’s.” Levi narrowed his eyes slightly and his head tilted. 

“Erwin died a few years ago, I didn’t want to ever be without him but sometimes it hurts to see the ring on my finger every second of the day.” 

Levi nodded, that was a pain he could understand. 

“But it's still close to your heart.” his voice caught in his throat as he said it.

“Exactly.” she was quiet and he watched her gently run the rings against the leather chord absentmindedly. The din of the restaurant faded as he reached out and gently grabbed her other hand, lacing their fingers together. She dropped the rings and looked at their hands. It was the first time he had ever touched her and it made tears prick in her eyes. She pulled her hand away, pulled off her glasses and Levi had to deal with seeing her bright eyes without the glass in the way again and he wasn’t certain he could handle it. She rubbed at her eyes and it wasn’t graceful but he didn’t want to look away. 

“I’m sorry you lost him, no one should have to endure something that shitty.” he looked almost upset, little emotions flitting across his face that Hange couldn’t name. She held her half empty glass up towards him and sipped her drink. She looked at the students around the table and smiled again.

“I like where I’m at though, they keep me busy and out of my head.” Levi hummed and nodded. 

“The brats are annoying though.” he gestured to one of Hange’s assistants who was terribly singing karaoke. 

“You like them, admit it.”

“I will not.” 

Hange laughed again, he really liked that sound, liked that she could have been miserable and chose to laugh and celebrate instead. He had never been able to do that, but watching her made him think he could at least fucking try.   
-_-_-__-

Levi double checked the number on his phone and did another lap around the building. University buildings always felt like they were numbered by a crackhead squirrel and he couldn’t seem to find Hange’s office. She wasn’t in the lab, which was rare and this was the only other place he could think to find her. He turned a different corner this time and saw two people in military uniforms walking down the hall. He did a double take when he saw Hange talking and laughing with them. At the same moment, she saw him and shouted. Her voice echoed with his name and he waved back. 

“You weren’t coming to see me were you Levi?” she swore he blushed but it was hard to be sure at this distance. He nodded though. 

“Levi, this is Mike and Nanaba. Guys this is Levi.” it was at this moment that Levi realized that these two people were insufferably tall. Mike sniffed loudly when he shook hands with Levi which was weird but Nanaba smiled kindly at him. 

“We were going to grab lunch before they head back, you should come with us.” Hange tugged him along and he thought about protesting but he had been looking for her anyway and if there were other people around he could at least breathe when she wasn’t looking at him. 

-_-_-_

“So how do you know Hange? Is this like a porno where the student has to sleep with their professor to pass the class?” Hange laughed and Levi smirked. He liked this weird giant and his stupid sense of humor. Levi leaned forward conspiratorially,

“She told me not to say anything.” this got another peal of laughter from Hange and she leaned into him briefly. He wished she’d stay right there and it killed him that he was sick like a dog over her touch. Mike and Nanaba shared a look though and he wondered if he was more transparent than he thought. 

“Unfortunately my life is far from a porno, I’m studying botany, I ran into Hange because something for my research ended up in her lab and they moved me there.”

“It was of dire importance.”

“My ficuses wouldn’t have made it through the week.” Levi looked so serious that Nanaba tried to curb their laugh. 

“And how do you three know each other?”

“We’re...old friends, from high school.” Mike seemed hesitant which seemed odd for what Levi had seen of the man.

Hange nodded at them, “We all went to high school together, Erwin and Mike and Nanaba all joined the military at the same time and trained together. I grew up with these assholes.”   
Mike relaxed and Levi could sense the energy pick up again. They started telling embarrassing stories from highschool and bemoaning the fact that Hange had been the only one of them smart enough and dedicated enough to win scholarships for college instead of going through the military. They talked about Erwin like he wasn’t dead and Levi was glad for that. There was nothing worse than when everyone danced around the dead person’s name like it was taboo when most people were desperate to revive their memory. They recounted the shotgun wedding Hange and Erwin had and how they invited their entire graduating class as a joke but almost a couple hundred people came bearing gifts or food for the happy couple. He could imagine Hange in a casual white dress and a little veil on her head and his chest tightened. She’d been eighteen and he couldn’t imagine loving someone that much at that age. He’d hated everyone in his high school and here she was with fond memories. He was shaken from his thoughts when his phone alarm went off and he remembered he had a life outside of this little moment. 

“Sorry, but I’ll have to leave you all, I have to go sit in a lecture hall with two hundred children who are all taller than I am.” Hange started to get up but he gently pushed her back down with a firm hand on her shoulder. He gestured to the other two. 

“Stay with your friends, I think they failed all their classes and need your help.” they all laughed again and it all just felt so right to be around them. He shook Mike and Nanaba’s hands once more. 

“In case I don’t see you again, and uh, thank you, for your service. I hope I’ll see you soon.” 

they both nodded, waved as he walked away. Levi really didn’t mind this class, loved it even, the professor was passionate to an almost manic degree, but he really didn’t want to leave the three of them. He really really hoped that he’d be able to see the three of them together once more, if only to get to know Hange a little better.

\-----_-_-

The second Levi walked out of earshot, Nanaba and Mike were on Hange like a pack of wolves.

“Who is this guy Hange, where did he come from, why do you know him, who's his daddy we need to know.” 

Hange rolled her eyes at her two best friends. 

“Ha.Ha. I told you, he works in the same lab as my team.”

“Has he been able to do any experiments with you?” Mike’s eyebrows wiggled and Hange kicked him under the table. 

“We’ve had coffee a few times and we run into each other on campus, his classes are all science classes near where I teach too.”

“Uh-hu uh-hu ‘run into each other’ is that a euphemisms for lab sex?” 

“Mike I swear on your grandmother’s grave-”

“I'm wounded.”

“You should be.” Nanaba chided him. “What do you know about him other than what you told us?”

“Well I know his uncle owns the flower shop but I don’t think they get along too well, he doesn’t talk too fondly of him. I know his mother died when he was in highschool and his father died overseas before he was born. He knows that I was married and that he’s dead and that's about it. “ 

“You got to the heavy stuff right away then?” Mike sniffed. She smelled like she was… happy talking about Levi despite the morbid conversation and he liked that for her. He hoped that the shorty would stick around for her. 

“Mike we’re too old now to be dancing around our lives, besides the trauma adds flavor. Plus I think he wins, two dead parents? That's batman material right there.” Nanaba’s eyes widened and they looked away.

“I mean you’re not wrong but you shouldn't say it.”

Hange laughed at Nanaba’s expression and shook her head. 

“Will you two be sticking around town for a bit? Or just visiting?”

“We’re on reserve now so we can live wherever. We thought we might check it out over here since you and Erwin liked it so much.”

Hange nodded, she and Erwin had moved here so she could be closer to her college and she’d never moved away, getting odd jobs as assistant teachers, researchers, and now an adjunct professor. She only had one masters so she couldn’t become a tenured professor unless she got the second one or a PH.d and she wasn’t really in the market for more education at the moment. 

“Well let me know where you’re looking because you don’t want to live anywhere near greek row and its way larger than you’d think.” 

They continued to talk until Hange was pulled away by a stack of ungraded papers and a meeting with one of her students. She waved goodbye to Armin after an hour long discussion about research methods for extreme deep ocean life. She yawned and shook her head. She still had hours of grading to do but she didn’t necessarily hate it. She was just a little absent minded at the moment. She kept thinking back to lunch and how Levi seemed to have a sense of longing about him when they had been talking about their stupid highschool and college days. He didn’t seem like his young adult life was as exciting as hers but she really didn’t know and that bothered her. He seemed to be learning all about her while staying skillfully quiet on his end. She took her glasses off and rubbed at her eyes when someone appeared in her doorway. She squinted but really couldn’t tell who it was until he spoke. 

“Hey, long night?” his familiar deep voice sent trills down her spine like she was a teenager talking to her first crush. It was ridiculous. 

“Levi you have no idea. If you hate writing papers just know that your TAs are suffering right along with you.” she cocked her head to the side, “is one of those for me?” He walked into the cramped room and set a to-go cup on the messiest desk he’d ever seen. She smiled and picked it up gratefully. 

“Scientists and students run on caffeine.” she watched him sit in the worn chair in front of her and cross his ankle over his knee. He leaned back and looked at her through the hair falling over his eyes. He looked too attractive to be sitting in a dim and dusty office with her. More like they should have been in a club or something. 

“You should make sure you run on food and clean clothes.”

“Does that work for you?” he shrugged and she raised an eyebrow mischievously. “I’m obligated to ask, do you have a question? Want me to check your grade? Change a thirty-two percent to a ninety?”

“Do people actually do that?”

“You’d be shocked.” she rolled her eyes and he realized that they were very large and incredibly bright, even in the awful fluorescents. He couldn’t tear his gaze away. He tilted his head and snarked, 

“Then yes, I’d like you to give me private lessons so I don’t have to look at the back of another teenager’s head ever again.”

“Mmmm” she hummed and her eyelids lowered, “what subject were you thinking?” her voice suddenly seemed too husky to just be exhaustion and Levi shifted so he was leaning forward. 

“I don’t know, I failed anatomy, maybe you can help with that?” dumb dumb stupid what the fuck was he saying why would he say that?

“You failed anatomy? When did you take it?” Hange’s head perked up and she looked more awake and Levi mentally face palmed.

“Uh I may have lied, but I did fail bio in high school.” 

“How long ago was that?” her voice was soft with genuine interest and his chest twisted, he didn’t like that she wanted to get to know him, but it bothered him even more that he was frightened by it. He scrunched his brows together like he was thinking about it. 

“It's been a while.”

“A rough estimate.” 

he groaned and leaned his head back, his button down exposed more of his neck and chest when he did and Hange squinted blatantly at him, trying to make her shitty eyes work for once without her glasses. 

“Like, fifteen years, give or take a few.” he lifted his head back up to look at her. She was nodding sagely,

“So you’re a dinosaur,”

“Oh my god.”

“Just ancient, old as balls,”

“Hange,”

“Pissing dust, have you had your hearing checked recently? Can you take a shit normally?”

“Oi, I can shit fine thank you very much.” she was nodding and laughing and he steeled himself before he walked around to sit on the desk just in front of her. She stopped giggling and looked up at him challengingly,

“What are you doing? This is my shitty, board-approved desk you’ve parked your ass on there.” he reached out and chucked her chin up to look him in the eyes.

“I thought you might like the view a little better if I was closer.” her breath hitched but she didn’t want to give in quite yet.

“Well thank you for coming closer, so at least I can tell what direction you’re looking in.” he narrowed his eyes.

“You couldn’t see me over there?”

“Not the details.”

“It's like four feet.”

“I'm nearsighted dumbass.” she watched him pick up her glasses and knew exactly what was about to play out but she was willing to suffer it if he was going to stay close enough for her to feel the heat coming off him. 

“Can I try these on?” she groaned and put her forehead on his knee. He stiffened but put them on anyway.

“These are filthy.”

“Thanks.” 

He got up and walked over to his bag on the floor, pulled out what looked like a handkerchief, and cleaned her glasses with more attention than she ever gave them. He put them back on and walked over to her, bumped into the desk and steadied himself against her chair.

“These are awful, please take them back.” she snorted and pulled them off his face, her hands brushing against his bangs and his hair was so soft.

“I think you should get a pair, you’re so old now that your vision is gonna get worse.” he shoved her shoulder and she batted him away. “Plus you look sexy in glasses.”

“I’m not-I’m not that old...” he suddenly looked worried and her heart ached. She shook her head,

“No idiot, we’re both old but only because everyone around us is fucking 20.”

“And they’re idiots.”

“And they’re idiots.”

He was still right there, nearly touching her. They suddenly seemed to reach the same conclusion and reached for each other in a scrambling kiss that was far more tender than Hange would have expected. She deepened the kiss and he pushed her down into the chair. He pulled away panting,

“You wanna get out of here? Or is this something you’re into?”

“Oh sure, I’ve always wanted to be railed on my desk.” she nipped at his ear and he shuddered.   
He pulled his shirt over his head and Hange sucked in a breath. She ran her hands along his muscled shoulders and down his chest, the hard muscles shuddering under her touch. Her fingertips brushed three roses inked on his ribs, trailing kisses along his collarbone down to his navel. She whispered against his skin

“Didn’t think you’d be inked up Levi.” He panted against her lips,

“One of the only stupid things I’ve done that I like.”

She chuckled and helped him unbutton her shirt. He could see a massive scar peeking from under it and pushed the sleeve down. It covered the majority of the front of her shoulder and trailed under her bra. He hooked his finger under the strap and pulled it down her shoulder.

“Does this still hurt?”

“The scar doesn’t but I can always tell when it's gonna rain.”

He laughed and it felt so unexpected from him that she couldn’t help but smile and pulled his forehead against hers. He could see the little gold flecks around her iris and the smile lines around her eyes and they were the most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen in his life. He closed his eyes and pressed his face into her neck, squeezing her tight against him. She combed her hand through his hair and he sighed against her. She hadn’t been held that tightly in a long time and she didn’t want to let him go. Her voice was soft when she spoke,

“What are those roses for?” 

He lifted his head and touched his ribs,

“They’re for the people I’ve lost. Old friends, family. It’s a little cheesy but nineteen year olds aren’t that creative.”

“It’s sweet though, don’t hate on it.” 

he tugged on her ponytail and she let her head loll back as he kissed her neck, down to where the scar on her shoulder started. He nipped it lightly before looking back up at her. She had her eyes closed and her teeth slightly bared. He liked that look on her and nipped her harder, watching her nose crinkle in response. He bit back up to her collarbone and trailed his hand up her exposed stomach to palm her breast. She gasped in response and scratched along his scalp making him shiver. They carried on fumbling around like teenagers in the dark until they couldn’t take it anymore. Thrusting together hard enough to shift the desk and scatter ungraded papers across the floor, making Hange laugh while Levi scowled. He grabbed her chin and made her look at him, he didn’t want her eyes anywhere but his. 

They ended up on the floor, leaning against the desk, the icy metal cooling their hot bodies. Levi pulled Hange against his chest and ran his nails against her scalp, scratching slowly and making her eyes droop. Their breathing finally slowed and Levi kissed the crown of her head before he reluctantly asked into her hair,

“Can I smoke in here?”

“I didn’t take you for a smoker Levi.” her voice was slightly huskier than normal and Levi grinned wryly before huffing, 

“It's a filthy habit I can’t seem to kick.” she hummed against his chest and nodded.

“I don’t mind, custodian might get ya though.” she felt him rifle through the bag and his arms wrapped around her while he lit the cigarette. She settled against him further and reached up to take it from him. 

“Not you too?” he watched her smoothly blow the smoke out and took it back from her. 

“Mmm, not really, Erwin used to smoke though, said the same thing, it's a filthy habit. Never minded it though.” Levi nodded. She still wasn’t fully undressed but he could see the rings dangling between her breasts. He picked them up and rolled one between his fingers. They were solid gold and not as worn as he thought they should be for almost ten years of marriage.

“How long did you have these?” 

“We bought them on our fifth anniversary, we couldn’t afford nice rings in high school ya know. My allowance wouldn’t cover gold.” she chuckled and put her hand over his. He linked their fingers together and brought her hand to his mouth. He kissed her knuckles gently. 

“Are you ok with this? I mean all of what we’re doing, is it too much?” he asked, suddenly anxious. She sat up from his chest and stubbed the cigarette out on her desk before straddling him. 

“I’m very ok with this, I’m not meant to be miserable all my life and neither are you, you grouch. Come on, let's go get something to eat, the papers can wait.” she tugged him to his feet and pulled him in for a dirty kiss before pushing him away and picking her clothes off the floor. He growled low in his throat and pulled her back to him, biting along her jaw and then backing up to pull his shirt on. She clicked her teeth at him and pulled her glasses down to her nose. 

“Hey hand me that big rock on the desk, I’m gonna prop the door open and let it air out.”

“Is this what hit my back?” 

she grinned wickedly at him.

“Probably.” 

He shoved the door as far as it would go and set the fucking boulder on the ground. He turned around and reached out for Hange, pulled her in close against his side. She was taller than him but he didn’t really mind that for once. She leaned into his touch and wrapped her arm around him. He could just rest his head on her shoulder, fitting into her in a way he never had with anyone before. The way they responded to each other’s touch was inherent and didn’t require any second thoughts. It was safe and comfortable, and the sounds of their steps down the hall echoed in their ears. 

“What’s even open this time of night?”

“Damn near everything shorty, it's a college town, nothing ever closes.” 

“The flower shop closes at seven.” he pointed out.

“Thats cause you and Kenny are old as balls and need to go to bed early.” he scoffed and pinched her waist. She squealed and jumped at his touch. He grinned when he looked at her and she realized that she hadn’t seen him smile like that before. If it took her being an idiot to see that smile on his face then by god was she going to be the biggest idiot he’d ever met.

-_-_-_-_

They were both more than a little drunk and stumbled around town, hardly out of place among the students there. They finally ended up near a large fountain in a park and they tossed their change from the night in, making wishes and making fun of each other. Levi finally mustered up the courage to ask about the scar on her shoulder and he could have cried when she told him that it was from the car accident that had killed Erwin. He grabbed her tight and pulled her head into his shoulder, smudging her glasses further, but he wanted her to know that he was right there for her. She thought it was funny that he got her glasses so dirty after he spent so long cleaning them and hugged him back so tight he could barely breathe. 

Neither of them were entirely certain how they got there but they ended up at Levi’s apartment, crashing into his pristinely made bed without thinking, like they’d been doing it their entire lives. 

He crawled out of bed the next morning at 6 am, careful not to disturb her, not worried that he would. She seemed like she could sleep through an earthquake. He left her a little note on a cup of coffee by the bed:

Sorry four-eyes, 7 am class.  
Coffee for your head

She woke with the sun through the windows, the sheets and the smell of Levi tangled around her. The coffee was tepid but she sipped it anyway, tucking the note in her bag. She plugged her dead phone into a charger she found and got into the shower. She wasn’t sure if Levi would be back anytime soon but she had to get ready for her class and a slew of meetings. For now she let the warm water run over her while she tried to remember when and how exactly she and Levi had found their way to his apartment. She knew it was near the downtown but other than that had no clue. She got out when the water started to get cold, tossed the shirt she’d found in a drawer over her head and tried to towel dry her hair as much as possible. She stepped into the bedroom and saw Levi in the doorway. He leaned his head against the frame, looked at her with the most earnest expression on his face.  
“You’re beautiful.” 

he said it quietly but she heard the tremor and hesitation in his voice. Hesitation not because he wasn’t sure, but because he couldn’t tell if it was something he should say. She glanced down, hoping she wasn’t blushing. She sat on the bed and watched him walk up to her. He wrapped her in his arms, her head pressed into his chest. He kissed the top of her head and muttered into her damp hair,

“Can you stay?” 

“I have meetings all day.” 

“Screw em” he felt her chuckle and he pulled away enough to look at her. 

“I’d love to Levi, but I can’t. Don’t you have class too?” she watched his eyes roll.

“I’ll skip class for once.” 

Hange shook her head with a smile,

“And leave your professors without you to look at? That's cruel.” she stood up and got dressed in last night's clothes.

“Are you going to go home and change?”

“No time, I’ll just head straight there.”

“That’s disgusting.” she shrugged and walked into the kitchen to pour more coffee. He followed her, shaking his head and glaring at her. 

“Ok, I really have to run.” she paused, “thank you, for letting me stay.” she kissed him on the cheek and even though he’d already seen every inch of her and had his tongue in her mouth, this kiss was so chaste and unexpected it froze him to his seat. He could only pull himself out of his haze when the door closed behind her. He shook his head and went to change for his outdoor lab class, it was always dirty and he’d dedicated certain clothes just for it. He popped into the bathroom to comb and tie up his hair. On the counter were Hange’s rings. He’d never seen her without them. 

“Shit.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Levi! How did you find me?” she was startled when who she thought was a student bumped her elbow off her desk. It took her a few seconds to register that the man in front of her even was Levi, he was wearing a flannel and had his hair pushed back with a band to keep it from his eyes. He looked vaguely like a pristine farmer, and it was stupidly attractive. 

“I brought you this.” He held up the chord with the rings on it and her hands instantly went to her chest. She had been in such a rush she hadn’t noticed. She took it from him gratefully and slipped it over her head. 

“Thank you, I can’t believe it left it. Where was it?”

“Bathroom counter.” he glanced at the class. Luckily it was one of those classes full of super talkative people. Much as Levi was annoyed by these kids he hated the weirdly quiet classrooms where students seemed terrified to make a noise. It also meant nobody was looking in their direction. 

“Where are you going dressed like a hermetically clean farmer?”

“Tch, I help maintain the gardens as part of my research, these are the only clothes I don’t mind getting dirty.” she looked him up and down and wriggled her eyebrows.

“It's a good look for you, all you need is a horse.”

“Ah ha, ha” he stood up from the desk he was leaning against and leaned towards her, “text me when your meetings are over, I’ll bring you a change of clothes so you’re not disgusting.” Hange laughed and handed him her keys.

“Sounds good shorty, I’ll text you my address after this class, which I need to get started by the way.” he nodded and reached out like he was going to touch her but he hesitated, glancing at the class again. He seemed to think better of it and squeezed her shoulder before waving goodbye and fleeing. Hange chuckled to herself and fired up her laptop, trying to sear the image of Levi with his hair done up in her memory. 

“Ok, how many of you actually did the reading last night?”

_---__-_-

Levi ended up walking to Hange’s house, finding it closer to campus than his was. It was a small apartment in a clean set of buildings and the door didn’t stick the way his did. Her house wasn’t dirty per say, it was just very...lived in. There were stacks of books and papers on nearly every flat surface and bookshelves of varying sizes were on every wall. There were tons of trinkets and photos on the shelves too. Like she didn’t want anything tucked in a drawer or out of sight. The photos caught his eye more than anything. There were three just inside the door, old ones.  
One was a graduation photo of her, Mike, Nanaba, and who he assumed was Erwin. The other photo was Hange in a white dress and Erwin in a tux. He was taller than Hange, well muscled even that young, and they looked stupidly happy. In the last one they were older, baby fat and kid’s postures long gone, replaced with a military bearing and uniform, Hange had thinned a bit and let her hair grow out. Their expressions were the same though, purely happy. He sniffed and turned away. He shuffled through the house to her room, which was just as messy, and looked for clean clothes. It looked like the dresser was just for decoration because there were more clothes on the floor and the bed than in it. After deeming a pair of jeans and a sweater clean enough for his taste he headed back out, careful not to disturb any of the papers. He locked the door and headed out, trying not to think about the medal that he’d seen on the bedside table or the pictures on the shelves where Erwin was missing an arm. He’d been injured in action it looked like. He couldn’t imagine the care that Hange must have had to do for him while he recovered. 

She was an unbelievably caring person, and he wanted to take care of her too. 

_-_-_-_-

“Oh this is cute! Did you see Sawney and Bean?”

“Who?” 

“My cats.”

“You have cats?”

“Yea look.” she pulled out her phone and found a picture of two of the weirdest cats Levi had ever seen in his life, their ears were huge and they looked vaguely like gremlins. He took the phone from her and squinted at the photo, holding the phone out from his face for a better look.  
“What the fuck are these?” 

she laughed and said “They’re oriental shorthairs, a very fancy breed of stupid.”

“You have cursed gremlins walking around your house.” she shook her head and pulled the sweater over her head. “Also your house is a mess.” he watched her roll her eyes.

“I know where everything is, that's all that matters.”

“That’s not possible.” he held his hand out for her to balance on while she pulled her jeans on, “Marie Kondo would have a field day in your house.”

“Joke’s on her, all of my shit sparks joy, so it stays.”

he smirked and tugged her to his chest. 

“You trying to tango Levi?”

“Ha, you wish you were that coordinated.”

She gasped in mock surprise. 

“I’m offended you would think I can’t dance.”

He narrowed his eyes and pulled her arm out to the side. 

“What are you doing shorty?”

“Testing a hypothesis.” he tugged her back and pushed her forward, pulling her around in the small office, tripping over their feet and laughing. There wasn’t enough room to take more than a few steps but they made it work, bumping into the desk on every other turn. They were interrupted by a rap on the door, a muffled voice calling for Hange. She pulled away and tugged the door open. 

“Hey Armin, come on in. Who is-” she was interrupted by Levi’s hands on her waist and his shocked voice,

“Mikasa?” Hange looked back and forth between the two and couldn’t understand what was happening, Armin looked just as confused as she did. They made eye contact and he shrugged.  
“Uncle Levi? What are you doing here?”

Armin and Hange both exclaimed at the same time,  
“Uncle?” 

_-_-_-_

Levi ended up taking Mikasa out in the hall to talk to her without disturbing Hange and Armin who were on their third day of research options for Armin’s paper. Curiosity was burning the both of them up and Armin could barely keep himself from asking what Levi was to Hange, he didn’t think he was a student, Armin was in both of Hange’s classes and had never seen him and they certainly hadn’t been going over papers when he’d knocked on the door. He’d heard their footsteps and laughter and Hange was wearing different clothes from when she had been in class and Levi had had his hands on her hips. Over all, he had no idea what was going on. 

_-_-_-_

“What are you doing here? Why are you here? What the fuck?”

“Mom said she talked to you about me coming to live with Kenny.”

“Kenny never said anything about that.” he ran his hand over his face. Kenny was not the type to be taking in kids and he wondered what type of mess he’d be cleaning up. 

“I was tired of commuting and he has an extra room. I won’t bother you.” she looked down and he reached out to grab her arm.

“You won't be bothering me, it’s Kenny bothering you I’m worried about. Have you moved in yet?” she shook her head.

“I’m driving a truck up this weekend.” she looked excited at the idea and he hated to be the one to bring the real world to her. Kenny would be a nuisance to live with at best and an asshole at the worst. He didn’t want her living with him. He sighed and pointed to Hange’s office. 

“They’re dying to know what we’re talking about.” she grinned that tiny Ackerman grin that suited their hard features so well. 

“Should we start yelling just to scare them?”

“Tch, all we need is for them to come running out. Lets go get them, I need to talk to Hange.”

“Who’s Professor Hange to you?” he looked at her sharply

“She’s a friend.” 

“Right.”

“And who’d that Jaeger boy to you?” she looked away embarrassed,

“A friend.” 

he raised his eyebrow.

“I’m calling your mother about this, she shouldn’t have sent you to be with Kenny.”

“You don’t have to call her.” she protested. He held a hand up to stop her,

“I’m not trying to make you stay at home, I just don’t want you with Kenny. Did your father not say anything to her about him?”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“He’s a fucking rat bastard thats whats wrong.” he tugged the door open at the same time Armin pushed it and the boy jumped. Hange was right behind him and watched Mikasa and Armin walk down the hall. She looked at Levi and his face was stormy. He met her eyes and she raised her brows,

“Uncle Levi?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just love the idea of armin being the smartest person in the room and not having a fckn clue about romantic relationships


	3. Chapter 3

“So what are you going to have her do?” They'd been walking around campus while Levi talked rapidly into the phone to Mikasa’s mother. It sounded like he was going in circles and he hung up in frustration after half an hour. He raked his hand through his hair and stuffed the phone in his pocket. 

“I don’t know, I don’t trust that bastard with a kid but none of us can afford housing for her.” he heaved a sigh and shook his head. Hange linked her arm with his and leaned heavily against him. He tucked his head into her shoulder while he contemplated what to do. 

“She could always live with you, don’t you have an extra room?” he looked up at her.

“That’s…I don’t know, then I’m responsible for her. And I hate her boyfriend.”

“Why? Does he rub Uncle Levi the wrong way?” he reached up and pinched her nose. She stuck her tongue out in response and he yelped,

“Gross! And yes he does, he’s in one of my classes and the brat is insufferable. He doesn’t listen to a goddamn thing anyone says.” 

“You should beat him up.”

“Don’t tempt me.” 

“Well, if she lives with you you can forbid him from ever coming over, thereby reducing the amount of time she spends with him.”

“I’d rather keep an eye on him.” 

Hange tilted her head,

“You really care about that kid?”

He sighed and looked at the ground. 

“Of course I do, she’s some of the only family I’ve got left.” 

“Then have her move in, keep Kenny out of the picture if you’re worried. Also, it’s only temporary, she might even find a roommate she wants to stay with more than you.” he groaned and pressed his forehead into her shoulder. They stood like that for a minute until Hange asked a question. 

“Hey Levi, can I see your phone?”

“Why?” his voice was muffled.

“Just testing a hypothesis.” 

She watched him pull it out of his pocket and unlock it before handing it to her.  
“Uh-hu, just as I suspected.”

“What?” 

“Come on.” she pulled him with her, him protesting the whole way until he found himself parked in a waiting room chair at the campus medical center.

“I don’t know why we’re doing this.”

“You are getting your eyes checked.”

“They’re fine.”

“Then why is the font at the largest setting on your phone?”  
“Personal preference.” 

“A preference to see?” he blew the hair out of his face and scowled at her. He did not need glasses, he could see just fine. He just preferred to hold things away from his face, it was more convenient that way. Hange waved at him as his name was called and he walked down the hall. 

-_-_-_-_

“Nana banana how are ya?”

“Just checking in on you, wondering if you have any news.” Hange rolled her eyes, Nana was never subtle, she and Mike had that in common.

“Oh well you know my research is getting extra funding bec-”

“Hange! You know what I mean! Tell me about your mushrooms _after _you tell me if you’ve slept with the short guy.”__

__“You really wanna hear about my mushrooms?”_ _

__“Of course, it's your research project.”_ _

__“Alright fine I’ll tell you, only on the condition of mushrooms afterwards. Hold on though, let me go outside.”_ _

__“You aren’t in your office?”_ _

__“I’m at the optometrist with Levi.”_ _

__“OooOoOoooh with _Levi?”__ _

____“Are you twelve?”_ _ _ _

____“Yes.”_ _ _ _

____“Fine, yes, I slept with him.” Hange held the phone from her ear as Nanaba yelled into it._ _ _ _

____“I knew it! I knew it, Mike thought it would take longer, but I could tell, he’s smitten with you.”_ _ _ _

____“No he’s not.”_ _ _ _

____“He _is _, aren’t you at the doctor’s with him? That's true love.”___ _ _ _

______“I’m here with him because he wouldn’t go otherwise.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“So when’s the next date? You been to his house yet? Oh wait where did you two do the deed?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Yea I’ve been to his house a few times, we’re going there later for-” she held the receiver away again._ _ _ _ _ _

______“You’ve been to his _house _? Multiple times?”___ _ _ _ _ _

________“Yes. You know we work in the same lab. It's not that weird that I’ve been there.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Have you slept over at Moblit’s house?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“No he has too many roommates.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“....”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Point taken. But anyway, something’s come up with him, I may end up on a backburner.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Noooooo, what happened?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“His niece, or cousin, or something, is probably going to move in with him. I don’t know, he’s really worried about it.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“And so are yooOOOOoOoOu!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Oi! Hange! You dragged me here, help me pick some stupid frames.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Is that him? Tell him I say hi! CALL ME!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Hange rolled her eyes at the phone, Nanaba was nothing if not passionate._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Who you talking to?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Nanaba, actually, they wanted to get together for lunch again.” Levi’s eyebrows lifted,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“You should do that, see if you can force them and Mike to admit their feelings for each other.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“How could you tell? They’ve been avoiding it for _years _!”___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“He watched Nanaba like a hawk the whole time, and I’ve seen those pictures on your walls he’s biding his time.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Hange hummed, following Levi into the office. That was a disturbingly perceptive observation._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________That could mean bad news for her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________-_-_-__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“So how was it?” they were standing in front of a rack of frames that all looked roughly the same to Levi._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“They puffed air directly into my fucking eye and made me shove my face into a machine, it was great.” she elbowed him and laughed mockingly,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Yea thats everyone’s favorite part.” the assistant standing near them piped up,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“We had to redo the air one seven times cause he kept moving.” Hange’s jaw dropped,  
“Levi!” _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“What? It’s horrible!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________The assistant stood off to the side, watching them pick up different frames and bicker back and forth. They were a cute couple, if a little brusque, but they seemed to get along well. She helped them pick between two pairs, Hange asking which pair looked sexier. The assistant laughed and helped them fill the paperwork out before leaving. They walked out, the man protesting the whole time that he didn’t really need them, the doctor was just trying to rip him off._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“They’re cute kids.” the secretary watched them walk down the street._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Actually, according to his file, he’s thirty-six.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I’m seventy-five years old, you’re all children to me.” the assistant rolled her eyes and went back to filling out her paperwork._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________-_-_-_-__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“You don’t have to come with me Levi, it's just a van I can drive it by myself.” Mikasa was in his living room, and had been arguing with him for fifteen minutes_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Just let me come with you and I can drive it, it's safer that way.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Technically you shouldn’t be driving anything until you have your glasses.” Hange was parked on the counter eating peanut butter straight out of the jar. She pointed her spoon at him,  
“I should drive the truck.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“You don’t have to come with me Hange, it's just a van, and I don’t need them for driving!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Mikasa dropped to the couch. Seeing one of her friend’s professors in her uncle’s house was weird enough but the way that they acted was worse. It was like an old married couple but worse because they were so awkward. Not that she was much better, Ackerman's bad luck seemed to be especially concentrated towards relationships. She watched him walk over to Hange with her peanut butter. He took it from her and she unfolded her legs so they were on either side of his waist. They were talking too quietly for Mikasa to hear but Hange chuckled and Levi kissed her nose. She’d never seen him like that in her life. He’d always been kind to her and her mother and she was fairly certain Levi had given a solid hook to her dad once or twice before he left, but he’d never been physically affectionate or gentle with anyone. He was so tender with Hange it was almost gross._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________But back to her truck._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I’m taking it by myself.” he turned around between Hange’s legs and scowled at her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“No you aren’t, besides, you’re too young to rent a truck.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“No I’m not.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Hange wrapped her arms around Levi and rested her chin on his shoulder, her head bobbing while she talked,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“You have to be 25 for insurance and legal reasons.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Mikasa groaned and threw herself back on the couch. When she looked up they were making out._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“You two are disgusting!” she stormed out the front door and let it slam behind her. She was happy for him but they were so gross._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Think we scared her off?” Levi hummed against Hange’s lips._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“She won't come back.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Lock the door just in case shorty, you don't want to scar her more than you already have.” he chuckled and picked her up off the counter, walking them back to his room, Hange laughing as he swung her back and forth. He slammed the door behind him and tossed her on the bed._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________They ended up naked on the floor, leaning against the cold wall, passing a cigarette between them. She had her head on his thigh, trailing her fingers along the roses on his ribs, watching the smoke trail towards the ceiling._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“You ought to quit, you’re a bad example.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I’ve always been a bad example.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Not true babe, you’re taking in a kid who needs you.” his heart thudded in his chest embarrassingly at the little nickname. He ran his hand through her hair gently. It was clean and soft for once and he loved the silkiness of it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I feel like I’m going to regret it Han, the Ackerman’s aren't the greatest bunch.”  
“I think you’re pretty great.” he scoffed and rolled his eyes. She hummed and kissed his hip, relaxing into his touch. “I think it’s going to be fine, it's all you can hope for.” _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He looked down at her, stroked down her chest and rolled the rings between his fingers. They stayed like that until their muscles were too stiff to take it anymore, shifting to the bed and burrowing under the mound of blankets._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________-_-_-_-__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Oh man Levi, I knew you were sexy but those glasses are just really doing it for me. Just take me on this desk right here.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Shut up idiot.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He pushed the small frames up his nose and looked at the paper they gave him to sign. He refused to admit it but he could actually see a lot better, he just hated that Hange had been right. But he didn’t need to wear them all the time, the doctor told him they were just for reading. He left them on when they walked out though, Hange really did seem to love them. He could get used to them. For a little bit. Maybe._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just want levi to wear glasses is that so much to ask


	4. Chapter 4

Levi and Hange showed up on Mikasa’s front door at nine am the next morning with the keys to a van. Hange stayed in the house with Mrs. Sara Ackerman while the other two argued and moved everything into it. She figured they had more to work out about the whole situation and let them bicker it out. Mrs. Ackerman was a little older than Levi and he’d apparently lived with them when Mikasa was younger. Later in the van she brought it up with him, hoping to pry more information from him. 

“How long did you live with them?” 

he glanced at her before puffing air out of his cheeks. He couldn’t just keep his mouth shut forever, not when she had been so honest with him about her whole damn life.

“After my mom died, I had nowhere to go, so her cousin took me in.”

“That would be Mikasa’s dad?” 

He nodded, his hands tightening on the wheel, eyes straight forward. 

“I don’t know why, he’d never met me, but Sara insisted. Mikasa was maybe two at the time, I can’t quite remember, everything was a blur for months. He was a jerk though, tried to rough me up one night, the bastard ended up on his ass. I pissed him off so bad but he was scared of me and stopped taking out whatever the fuck was wrong with him on Sarah.” he stopped, he hadn’t told this to anyone before. It was probably the first time he’d said any of it out loud. 

“I had just gotten a job, came home real late and he was just hitting Sarah and I-” his voice choked and he sucked in a breath.

Hange reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing tightly.

“I could have killed him Hange, I was so angry. How could he do that? How could he put her or Mikasa through that? I took Sarah to the hospital, Mikasa wasn’t there for some reason, she was maybe with her grandmother? She was ok with some stitches and tylenol but he was in the hospital for a few days. He never said anything and left a few weeks later.” 

“I think you did the right thing, maybe a little rough, but right.” he laughed harshly,

“Yea, and Mikasa had no dad growing up thanks to me.”

“Levi,” his eyes darted to hers briefly and they were bright with emotion, “that man was no dad, hardly has the right to call himself a father. She’s got you to look out for her. That's better than anyone.” 

“I...I just don’t want her getting hurt, I don’t...want to hurt y- anyone.” it was his worst fear, that he’d fall into the pattern of his blood, bringing tragedy or pain to someone he loved. He loved Mikasa, she was a child in all this, and she wasn’t so hardened to the world. He was terrified of loving Hange. If he admitted it to himself, he admitted that someone could hurt him again. He could also do the hurting and he’d been trying so hard to make sure that never happened. 

Hange had been hurt though, hurt in one of the worst ways he could really imagine. His mother had never recovered from the death of his father, never let the heaviness leave her. It had hung over them her whole life, she carried it to her deathbed. Hange refused to let it weigh her down. 

The truck rumbled around them, Hange’s thumb rubbing against his knuckles.

“I think you are far kinder than you give yourself credit for Levi, don’t fool yourself.” her voice was almost hard, like she needed him to believe it more than anything. 

-_-_

He dropped Hange off at campus for a meeting and headed to his apartment, steeling himself for whatever chaos Mikasa and her friends would bring. Her damn boyfriend was supposed to help along with Armin. He didn’t think the two of them could lift a box, nevermind a bed frame, but they insisted on helping. He liked Armin, if only because Hange said he was one of her best students. 

Possibly, he could push Jaeger out of the truck, just for fun. 

That lifted his spirits a bit and he paid for chinese food when they were done. Hange showed up later with a bouquet of flowers (hopefully from his shop, their flowers were the best) as a housewarming gift. He almost laughed when he was curled up on the couch with Hange, three nineteen year old kids scattered around his coffee table, like he was running some kind of halfway house. Armin and Hange were talking to each other so fast he could barely keep up and he hoped Hange didn’t lecture like that, there was no way you could take notes while she talked that fast. She ended up on the floor with a notebook between her and Armin, writing out equations and diagrams. She’d settled herself between his knees, leaning into wherever his hands found their way onto her. Levi pretended he didn’t see Mikasa and the damn Jaeger kid leaning against each other too, like no one knew what they were doing. 

He almost kicked them all out, including Hange, when he put on his glasses to look at his phone and Mikasa teased him into oblivion. 

Armin and Eren left around ten, before their RA could yell at them, he was notorious for his feud with Eren and Levi automatically liked this kid he’d never met. It left just Mikasa and Hange with him. He knew Hange would go home, he’d drive her there just to be safe and he’d hate that her door would close behind her, leaving him with just Mikasa and his torrent of feelings. He realized with a start that he didn’t want her to go home, not now and not ever. And that fucking terrified him. But he had to do something about it.

He took a deep breath.

“Ah, Hange, it's late, if you...if you want to stay.” it was different, her staying this time. She’d slept the night multiple times but only because she’d already been in his bed, not because he asked her to stay so he wasn’t alone. She looked at him, put her hands on each side of his head, understanding, somehow, what he meant by that stupid question. She nodded and kissed the corner of his eye. Mikasa had already closed the door to her little room, boxes stacked in the narrow hall so you could barely pass. They got ready for bed and he realized that Hange had already been creeping into his life. She had a toothbrush here and more clothes were in his dresser than in her own, but that was only because her dresser didn’t seem to be for clothes, more for a prop. They crawled into his bed, settling against each other in that way that made him think they were meant to be together more than any other people in the world. 

In the morning, when he woke up and she was curled into his chest it almost ached how much he loved it. He could hear the unfamiliar shuffling of Mikasa’s light footsteps and it reminded him of when she was young and would creep around the house, pretending to be a ninja. He stayed in bed with Hange pressed against him. He pulled his stupid glasses on and found some reading assignment he could do on his phone without disturbing Hange. She slept late, no classes or burning assignments needed her attention on a Sunday and she took full advantage of that. He got up to help Mikasa move a bookshelf and decided to make them all breakfast, Hange wouldn’t eat anything otherwise, just drink coffee until it was three p.m. and she was shaking. It was a dumb habit she’d had the entire time he’d known her. He’d have to make sure she broke it. 

_-_-_-_

Levi had just gotten out of the shower, hair still dripping, when Hange woke up. She’d been up all night and most of the day before collapsing into his bed a few hours ago. She sat up and combed her hair away from her eyes still blurry with sleep, or the inability to see, one of the two. She grinned and miemed pulling him towards her. He shook his head and walked over obligingly. Climbing on top of her, he caged her between his arms and shook his wet hair on her. 

She laughed and spluttered his name.

“You need a bath too, I’m just trying to help.” he kissed her and she pressed her thigh against him, making him groan. He peppered kisses on her eyes, on her nose, along her jaw, tickling and playful. Her hand drifted down his chest, tracing along his hips, making him twitch in response. She raked her hand down his back and then they heard the telltale sound of his front door being kicked open. His head dropped against Hange’s shoulder.

“I swear to fucking god I’m going to kill that kid.” 

Hange laughed and wrapped her arms around his chest, pulling him against her. 

“I’ll dig a hole.” 

He shook his head and stayed on top of her. They snuggled together, Hange tracing patterns on his back. He was solid and his warmth helped her drift back to sleep, her breathing deepening. His head was pressed against her chest and he could feel her heartbeat, steady and strong. He could also hear Mikasa shuffling around the house, purposefully being loud. She didn’t have the damn Jaeger boy with her so he assumed she’d be heading out again but he was going to stay behind his closed door until he wasn’t pissed at her. Letting her live with him was the right thing to do but by god was it the most irritating thing. His house wasn’t just his anymore, he was sharing it with two other people now and adjusting to that was harder than he’d thought. They could always go to Hange’s house but the state of it made him crazy. He’d befriended the weird cats though, so that was a bonus. 

He heard one last drawer close and the front door was thrown shut. He sighed and shifted so he was laying next to Hange. He watched her chest rise and fall, brought the back of his hand up to brush gently against her cheek. She was out cold, nothing could wake her now. He pulled the blanket up around them and pulled her close, feeling her snuggle into his chest. He pressed his lips against her hair and closed his eyes. They could always pick up where they left off in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we love snuggles and emotionally inept ackermans in this house


	5. Chapter 5

The weird adjustment period between Levi and Mikasa was something Hange was way too happy to witness. Levi hated Eren with a passion, going so far as to ban him from the house until Mikasa and Hange protested enough to break him down. So they compromised; he was only allowed in the living room and had to leave by nine. Levi’s main problem was that Mikasa would just leave with Eren and considering the fact that she was nineteen, a curfew seemed too overreaching, especially since he and Hange were often out working or in their lab.

Armin took full advantage of the fact that he had almost unlimited access to his favorite professor and was parked at Levi’s dining table more often than Mikasa was. Levi was shocked to find out that the kid actually had a boyfriend and instantly approved when he learned it was the RA that hated Eren. How their interactions worked out was something he was desperate to see but he refused to allow anyone other than the three of them in his house, he didn’t need the three boys fighting and wrecking his home. 

He wanted Mikasa to feel at home though. He gave her free reign to come and go as she pleased but he couldn’t get used to coming back from work or class and have the possibility of other people in his house. He didn’t have a problem with other people coming over, kind of. Hange only ever came over accompanied by him but Mikasa and Armin were just _there _sometimes.__

__It took Mikasa a bit to adjust to freedom she now had and oh yea, the sheer number of plants Levi had. They were on almost every flat surface and hanging in the corner of every room. They were all trimmed to controlled perfection and he watered and dusted them daily. She didn’t know you had to dust plants until he lectured her on the impact to their ability to photosynthesize for so long that she wanted to blow her brains out. There were some _in _the shower and orchids on the vanity that she had to promise never to touch. To be fair that went for Hange as well but for different reasons. She had a habit of taking them back to the lab and running weird experiments on them that he couldn’t understand.___ _

____All the while, Levi was still adjusting to his glasses. He forgot them at home constantly, finding himself squinting in class before realizing. Hange left her glasses everywhere but seemed to have a never ending supply of them. Mikasa had to be careful that she never sat on a pair of frames, mangling them beyond repair. She hoped that it wasn’t genetic, she’d hate to have to wear them too._ _ _ _

_____-_-_-__ _ _ _

___ _

____Levi tugged the door open, thinking Hange had forgotten her key or something, only to reveal Armin on his doorstep, arm raised to bang on the door again._ _ _ _

____“Kid, what do you want?”_ _ _ _

____“Have you seen Professor Hange?”_ _ _ _

____“No, I thought she was at her office.”_ _ _ _

____“I just came from there, she wasn’t in the lab either.”_ _ _ _

____“She’s probably at home Armin, and you can’t just come looking for her whenever you want, she’s not always here.”_ _ _ _

____“She isn’t? I thought you two were-”_ _ _ _

____“Thought we were what?” Levi glared at Armin and even though the boy was almost a full head taller than him he blanched and backed away, waving frantically._ _ _ _

____“Uh nothing, I’m going back to the lab, tell Mikasa I say hi, bye Mr. Levi, Mr. Ackerman, sir.”_ _ _ _

____-_-_-_-_ _ _ _

____“Hey shitty glasses.”_ _ _ _

____“Levi you are wearing glasses.”_ _ _ _

____“Not relevant, mine aren’t shitty.”_ _ _ _

____Hange stuck her tongue out at him._ _ _ _

____“You were in high demand yesterday, where’d you disappear to?” he was insanely curious, she had vanished off the planet yesterday. She’s a grown woman, he didn’t have the right to know where she was all the time but it was strange, she could usually be found somewhere on campus. Her eyes darted to a frame on her desk, it was one that had her and Erwin and their friends._ _ _ _

____“Yesterday was the anniversary of Erwin’s death.”_ _ _ _

____Levi nodded._ _ _ _

____“Mike and Nana and I always go and visit him, we drink and tell stupid stories.”_ _ _ _

____He scanned her up and down, she didn’t seem horribly tense or overly depressed, but he was worried she might be hiding it._ _ _ _

____“You alright?”_ _ _ _

____She looked at him on the other side of her desk and she nodded._ _ _ _

____“It wasn’t so bad this time.”_ _ _ _

____He walked over to her, cupped her face in his hand. He believed her, but he knew it would still hurt her for years. It was one of those things that would weigh on her and he could see it._ _ _ _

____“It gets better Han.”_ _ _ _

____She nodded. Then she tilted her head away from his hand to look up at him._ _ _ _

____“You could always make it better.” he looked at her quizzically, “rail me on my desk again, that was fun.”_ _ _ _

____He grinned wryly, “You’re a nightmare Hange.”_ _ _ _

____“Yea, but I'm your nightmare.”_ _ _ _

____He kissed the side of her head and their glasses clinked together._ _ _ _

____“I swear to fuck I’m never wearing these again.”_ _ _ _

____“Aw but you look so good in them!”_ _ _ _


	6. Chapter 6

Mikasa was sitting opposite Levi at the table, both of them diligently working on their midterms. Hange was at her office, working on the midterms there so that Armin couldn’t see. He’d been banned from the house until they were over. A question popped into Mikasa’s head suddenly and before she could think she blurted out

“Levi what is that necklace Hange always wears, the ones with the rings on it.” 

He glanced up from his work and regarded her silently before starting, “They’re her old wedding bands, she was married before.”

Mikasa’s eyes widened, “That’s what they are?” 

Levi nodded behind his laptop, he didn’t look phased or even particularly interested in their conversation.

“How long ago was she married?” 

“Until a few years ago, her husband died in a car accident.” he lowered the laptop to look at her better, “that's where the scar on her shoulder is from.”

She stared at her uncle, wide eyed at the way he casually shared this with her, it felt like it was too private, like it should stay a secret. Her mother never talked about her father, it was like he had never existed. That entire part of her life had been hidden and closed off her whole life and here Levi was spilling secrets like it was normal. He began typing away before stopping abruptly to look up at her.

“You can ask her about it, if you want, you guys might have a lot in common. Just...don’t be afraid to ask her anything. She really likes you. Thinks you’re smart.” he went back to typing, his features as unbothered now as they were before they started talking. She didn’t quite want to let him go yet, not while he was being so open. 

“Do you love her?” she watched him almost jump out of his seat and she grinned a little. She waited for him to stop spluttering and give her a solid answer. “Levi!”

“Yes...I do.”

“You what?” she raised her eyebrow. 

“I...love her.” he put his head in his hands and took a deep breath. Mikasa watched him intently. He was the strongest man she knew. Her own father had been spineless and there had been no one to take his place. Levi had been there until she was twelve years old, never mean to her but never open and honest like this. He looked almost...scared. Like he couldn’t come to terms with the depth of his feelings. 

“Have you told her that?”

He peeked from behind his fingers and muttered, “No.” 

“Why not?”

“I’m fucking terrified of hurting her, kid.” 

“Hey,” Mikasa’s voice was soft and she was kneeling next to him all of a sudden. She put her hand on his arm the way he had to her a few weeks ago, planting him firmly in place. “Fear is just a part of love and you’ve never hurt anyone you loved.”

“That's not tr-”

“You never hurt your mother, you never hurt Isabel and Farlan and you’ve never hurt me. That matters.” 

He sat entirely still for a long moment before he squeezed her shoulder. Mikasa stood up and hugged him, tight like she did when she was little and had no respect for his boundaries. Whether they intended it or not, they were reserved with each other. She didn’t hate it but they needed to help each other out. Her uncle was in love and scared and hurting too much for her to avoid helping him. 

“Maybe you don’t have to say it, just show her, somehow.” 

Levi stood up to make some tea, keeping his hands busy while he thought. He gestured to her homework.

“Are you interrogating me so you don’t have to do that?” she shook her head and scowled at him. They were good at deflecting. He sighed, “I think you’re right. I have to try to tell her.” 

Mikasa nodded, sipping the tea he handed her. She held her cup like he did and he ruffled her hair when he noticed. It was an almost forgotten habit, one she’d picked up from him as a kid and dropped when he’d left. She’d do it now though, just to tease him.

-_-_-_-_-

“Are you still smoking Levi?” Mikasa held an unwrapped pack of cigarettes up accusingly. Hange’s eyes widened and darted between the two Ackermans. This could mean war. 

“No.” Levi crossed his arms and looked defiantly at the teenager who was accusing him. 

“He’s lying.” Hange stage whispered at Mikasa.

“Hange!”

“Bastard.” 

“Mikasa!” 

“You said you were quitting, I’m holding you to that, and Hange,” she whipped around to face the professor, “You ought to know better.”

“I can only do so much Mikasa, I’m a busy woman.” Hange dramatically draped an arm over her head and fell against the couch. 

“She smokes too.” Levi muttered.

“I do not!”

“Who’s lying now?”

“Hange, not you too?” Mikasa looked betrayed. 

Hange looked at Levi, “sometimes after sex. But just what Levi has!” Mikasa covered her ears and yelled,

“Disgusting! You both are gross! I’m getting rid of these.” she threw them in the sink and soaked them. Which was really unnecessary because if she’d simply tossed them in the trash Levi wouldn’t have touched them. Extra percussion Hange assumed. Mikasa strutted triumphantly past Levi and headed toward the door.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m getting you patches or gum or something, you’re killing your lungs with that shit.” 

“I don't nee-” but she was already out. “They won't work.” he muttered at the door.

“Aw, she’s trying to help you.”

“What if I tell her I’ll quit for real if she dumps Jaeger?” he dropped next to Hange on the couch, she wrapped her arms around him and tucked his head under her chin.

“I don’t think she likes you that much.”

“Damn, I woulda done it for sure.” 

Hange laughed, “Maybe bring it up, you never know.”

“Mmmmm.” 

They sat there undisturbed, quietly breathing and enjoying the way the sun slid across the floor. After a minute Hange poked Levi in the ribs. 

“Hmm?”

“I have to go home, I gotta feed my fur babies.”

“You mean your gremlins?”

“Yes, they miss me. They cry when I come home now.”

“They’re crying cause your house is a mess.”

“They love it, it's like a jungle gym.” 

“Your house shouldn’t be a playground for your cats.” He sighed and stood up, “Come on, let's go feed your beasts.” 

They decided to walk, the light breeze was just enough to rustle the leaves in the trees and make the shadows dance in the setting sun. Neither of them said much, staying mostly quiet aside from the occasional warning of a curb or a cyclist. It was driving Hange insane. 

“What are you stewing on there, four-eyes, you’re awfully quiet.” 

He pointed to his face, “Not wearing them.”

“You’re avoiding my question.”

He stopped, an almost pained look on his face.

“Are you constipated?”

“Shut up, what if…you brought...the cats?”

“Where?”

Levi looked everywhere but at her.

“To my house. So they’re not alone.” 

Hange put her hands on his shoulders, forcing him to look at her. His face was so open, so painfully earnest that she didn’t need to ask him what he really meant. She understood him for the simple reason that she loved him. She could read the meaning in the set of his jaw and the lines around his eyes. He looked up into her face, the setting sun glinting off her glasses, the orange light tinting her skin. She was glowing in front of him, reading him like a book because they weren’t so good with speaking their words but they could understand the tension in their bodies and the trust in their gazes. Hange pressed her forehead against his and he finally spoke, 

“Is that ok? I know you’ve had this whole life before me, but I think I…” He looked up at her, struggling to find a way to say that he fucking loved her and wanted her to be with him for the rest of his damn life even if it meant taking her past life with him.

“I want you to come home.”

He watched her nod her head, take off her glasses and rub at the tears on her cheeks. He reached up and brushed them away, pulled her into his chest and felt her breathe against his shoulder.

She pulled back, sniffling a little,

“I hope you like cats, cause they're coming with me.” 

He reached up and pinched her nose,

“Of course I do, they’re cleaner than you.” 

She chuckled and they walked up the flight of stairs to her apartment. When they walked back to Levi’s house with a cat each they got curious looks and a couple pictures taken. They looked like the cats too, the lean, silver-eyed black cat in his arms had the same scowl he did. Hange’s disarrayed brown-eyed charge was wide eyed and curious and the four of them couldn’t be more excited to get back indoors. 

When Mikasa woke the next morning and there was a large, freaky black cat on the counter she seriously considered moving back home. Weirdly Levi didn’t seem phased, just pet the disturbing thing and made his coffee. Hange stumbled out a bit later and while that wasn’t unusual in itself, the way they looked at each other was. Like something had changed. It was imperceptible, but Levi seemed...happy. Like he was truly untroubled and the scowl lines in his face had softened.

Hange also did not seem phased by the weird cat. Mikasa went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and there was _another _cat in there.__

__“Levi!”_ _

__“Hai?”_ _

__“Why are there cats here?”_ _

__He appeared in the doorway and picked up the offending animal._ _

__“They’re Hange’s.”_ _

___Thank you for zero information, Levi, very helpful._ _ _

____“I gotta get to class.”_ _ _ _

____She pushed past him and waved to Hange on her way out. Hange had the other cat in her arms and Mikasa could not believe the image of her uncle and Hange holding cats and waving her off. College was fucking weird._ _ _ _


	7. Chapter 7

“Nana!”

“Hange!” Nana grabbed her in a bear hug and spun her around, laughing like a kid. “What’s the news? You’re not pregnant are you?” They gasped like Hange had already spilled her secret.

“No! Not a chance!”

“But it has to do with the shorty?”

Hange nodded and gave Nana a toothy grin.

“I’m moving in with him.” Nana gasped and their jaw dropped.

“No!”

“Yes!”

“Oh my god Hange that’s so exciting!” Nana wrapped her in another rib-crushing hug.

“I know! And I’m kinda excited to go through everything, I haven’t bothered since I last moved.”

Nana nodded and snapped their fingers, “now you can get rid of all your ugly, worn out furniture.”

“Hey, I like the holes in the couch. I can hide things in them.”

“It's time they die. Lay them to rest, burn them on a pyre.” 

“Goodbye couch, it was nice while it lasted.” 

Nana leaned forward conspiratorially, Hange leaned in to meet them halfway. 

“Have you had sex on this desk?”

“Absolutely.” Hange grinned wickedly and in an almost offhand manner said, “So when are you and Mike going to move over here together?” 

Nanaba coughed and squinted at Hange.

“As soon as he confesses.”

Hange raised an eyebrow. “Call me when that finally happens.”

“I’ll show up on your doorstep when it does. It’s been too long.” 

“You both are just big softies, but yes, it has been _far _too long.”__

__Nana nodded and gestured toward the door with her thumb._ _

__“Coffee?”_ _

__“Please.”_ _

__

__-_-_-_-_-__ _

__

__“Rico, hand me that petri dish, number four, it doesn’t match its previous results.”_ _

__“I checked this one three times, why wouldn’t it match?” she handed it to Hange who immediately flipped it over._ _

__“That’s because this is number seven, Armin writes his sevens like that even though I’ve told him a million times not to.”_ _

__“Goddamnit, do we need to rerun this entire rack?” Rico pushed her goggles down to her neck and rubbed at her eyes. Hange did the same, their glasses fogged after too much time in the lab but they were usually too focused to bother cleaning them. It often resulted in red marks around their faces as well, clear signs they spent too much time with their experiments._ _

__“Nah, let's call it a day, I’ll have Gunther look at it later.”_ _

__“Alright, are we too late to go for lunch? Or is it dinner now?”_ _

__Hange checked her nearly dead phone and her eyes widened, “Yea its definitely dinner, wanna go to Hannes’s?”_ _

__Rico nodded and they put their samples away with a note for the next student to not touch anything in that entire fridge. The undergrads had a habit of accidentally sabotaging Rico’s samples._ _

__They walked through the campus, cutting across side streets and between buildings until they found Hannes himself. He led them outside in the back of the building where it was marginally quieter than the streetfront. A young woman brought their food out and handed them drinks they didn’t order._ _

__“On the house.”_ _

__“Tell Hannes thanks!” Hange turned back to Rico who was already eating._ _

__“Is someone new using the lab? My stuff keeps getting moved.” Rico stuck her fork in Hange’s food, taking a heaping bite. Hange whacked her fork away without looking,_ _

__“I don’t think so, it’s probably Levi, he cleans like his life depends on it.”_ _

__Rico peered at Hange over her glasses, “You and the cleanfreak seem really close.”_ _

__Hange shrugged, “I hope so, I’m moving in with him, that would be awkward if we weren’t.”_ _

__Rico’s jaw dropped, “And you didn’t tell me sooner?”_ _

__Hange winked and took Rico’s drink. Hannes accosted them later and Rico told him they were there to celebrate. He was always eager for a reason to open a bottle and before any of them knew it they were far too drunk to drive anywhere. Hange and Rico wandered around the town until they ended up at Hange’s house. Rico had crashed there before, Hange’s couch being much closer than Rico’s to campus. She looked around the room and asked Hange what she was going to do with all of her stuff. Hange shrugged,_ _

__“I guess some of it's going to have to go, it won't all fit.”_ _

__“Is that a bad thing?” Rico’s voice slurred._ _

__“I don’t think so. It's like a fresh start.” Hange helped her settle on the couch and the other woman hummed and nodded for far longer than necessary to respond. Hange tossed a blanket over her and barely managed to brush her teeth before crashing into bed. As she settled into her nest of blankets she noticed one of the pillows on her bed smelled faintly like cologne. She buried her face in it and breathed deeply, realizing just as she drifted off that it smelled like Levi._ _


	8. Chapter 8

The biggest dilemma they faced moving Hange out of her apartment was the sheer amount of stuff that she had. It wasn’t like moving Mikasa with only a singular room’s worth of boxes to her name. Hange had an entire life to pack up. And she had a lot of Erwin’s things. Not a lot of his clothes, but all of the mugs he’d picked up in the places he was stationed, every airport book he bought and sent to her, every little trinket and magnet they ever bought was something she still had. If it could be used or displayed it had been kept. 

They went through her house and got rid of things Levi had newer or cleaner versions of; there was no need for a million forks and mismatched tupperware. But he carefully wrapped every chipped mug in paper and bubble wrap, packed the little fridge magnets in between the cups and threatened violence to the boys if the boxes were damaged. All the books Hange had accumulated got sent to storage until they could install built-in bookshelves or until they moved to a larger house, which was still a possibility in the future. They had agreed with Mikasa to try it out, seeing if the three of them could make it work in the closest approximation of a family any of them had had for a long time. 

Levi found plenty of Erwin’s things around the house that Hange had no real use for anymore. An electric razor under the sink that no longer worked, a toolbox with a layer of dust on it thick enough to write in in a closet. She had his old laptop and cellphone, relics of technology from almost fifteen years ago. They had documents and photos she’d never bothered to transfer over on her own. It turned out the few clothes that ever made it into the dresser were the clothes of his that she still used; mostly worn out pajama bottoms and army sweatshirts for cold nights. All tiny parts of her old life that clung to her like dust to his plants. He wasn’t going to make her wipe any of it away, but he could help her if she wanted. 

-_-_-_-

The day after the move left them exhausted. Levi was an efficient man to the core and unpacked like he was on a timer. Hange was mentally exhausted from trying to find places for everything in his perfectly organized home that wouldn’t clash with what he wanted. But when Levi’s alarm went off the next morning at the godawful early hour of six am, he didn’t dread the coming day. Hange rolled over and nuzzled against his neck. Her breath was warm against his skin and it sent tingles up his spine. 

“Hey Levi,” she was almost whispering in the early dawn, “I live here now.” 

He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her. “I know. I’m glad you’re here.” He kissed the top of her head and squeezed his eyes shut. If he could ignore the light he could stay right there for as long as he wanted.

He flinched when she jabbed him in the ribs.

“Can’t get rid of me now.”

He pulled her on top of him and flipped her over. He propped himself up on his elbow, his face hovering over hers. Lips against her temple he whispered,

“Wouldn’t dream of it idiot.” he brushed his thumb along her cheekbone, tilted her head up to capture her mouth in a gentle kiss. His hair tickled her face and she grinned against his lips. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach when he pulled back and she could see his steel grey eyes glittering in front of her. 

“I love you, shorty.”

His face softened into an almost childish expression of trust. She brushed the bangs away from his face, running her hand through the silky soft strands. He kissed the corner of her eye.

“I love you too four-eyes.”


	9. Chapter 9

The three of them had a lot of adjusting to do. Levi was a neatfreak used to living by himself. Hange tended to leave everything, everywhere. Mikasa just wasn’t used to being with two adults who let her live how she wanted. Hange did her best to remember to put her toothbrush in the little cup by the sink and use the coasters that were on every side table in the house. She left coffee cups on nearly every flat surface, which explained why she had so many mugs in the first place; it was practical if you never used the same one twice. The three of them almost completely stopped eating at the small table because it was so overrun with all of their assignments and the papers Hange took home to grade. They took to sitting on the floor around the coffee table, which usually had more room for anyone else who joined them for dinner. Eren was over more often than Levi would have wanted but he’d rather Mikasa be in his home than a horrible dorm with her boyfriend, so Eren and Armin were usually there with them. 

Hange and Mikasa had to get used to making sure anything they wanted to keep was out of Levi’s sight. He had a habit of simply throwing anything that was in his way directly in the trash. If it was left out it must not be needed or useful, so away it went. This resulted in many missing headphones, socks, and the occasional charger. Mikasa argued with him constantly about anything of hers that went missing and he was usually the culprit, though sometimes the cats _were_ to blame. They stole anything small enough to fit in their mouths and hid them under Mikasa’s bed. 

__Levi had taken a liking to the cats once he realized that they never touched his plants. They would steal food off his plate if he wasn’t watching but not once did they take a bite out of any of his plants. His mother had had a cat that ate nearly everything in the house and he hated when it would eat the flowers and upset his mother. These ugly gremlin cats didn’t seem interested._ _

__They had an obscene number of toys and cat perches and he refused to let any of those nasty, fur encased, cat trees into his house. That was where he drew the line and Mikasa, for once in her life, supported his opinion. She didn’t hate the cats but there was a _strong_ dislike growing in her. Which was annoying, because they loved her. She would find them tucked under her comforter no matter how tightly she made the bed and their fur would get up her nose and make her sneeze. Or she’d find them on her backpack or in her favorite spot on the couch. She wasn’t entirely allergic to them, they just left their fur on _everything_ that she owned, particularly the red scarf Eren had just given her. She loved it but couldn’t wear it unless it was fresh out of the wash because they fucking nested in it no matter how well she hid it. __

______She couldn’t believe how much Levi liked them. They would jump on his shoulder while he was studying or curl up in his lap and he would just _let _them. He would pet them and cuddle them to his chest if he thought no one was looking.___ _ _ _ _ _

________It was nice having pets around though, Mikasa’s mother never let her have any. Maybe Levi would let her get a dog and she could go on runs with it. If it didn’t slobber he might like it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________-_-_-_-_-_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The next free weekend they had was for tackling the photos. The three of them sat on the floor, explaining the photos and the stories behind them late into the night. Cups of coffee and tea from the cafe down the street were scattered around them. Levi surprised Hange by pulling out a box from the back of his closet. She’d never seen a picture of his mother and was shocked to find that he was the spitting image of her. There were pictures of him and his friends from when he lived with Mikasa too. He told her about Isabel and Farlan, siblings he’d befriended after high school and still talked to on occasion. He was devastated by the revelation that he hadn’t seen them in years. They were his closest friends but life had drifted them apart like it so often did. That was why the photographs were so important to Hange; they helped you remember what made you happy._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Hange’s favorite picture was the four of them in front of a car, a young Levi was sitting on the hood with a three- or four-year-old Mikasa on his shoulders, Isabel and Farlan were on either side of him and they were all laughing. It was from a road trip they took that Sara let Mikasa go on for no reason that Levi could remember. Mikasa had never seen the photo and had only vague memories of the two of them. Some of the stories Levi told were new for her too and she marveled at these two people whose lives could be pieced together in boxes of old photographs._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________-_-_-_-_-__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Did you get all the boxes out of the hall?” Levi called to Hange across the house. They had just one or two left and he was eager to get them out as fast as possible._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Yea there’s nothing left!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Thank god.” he muttered. He then immediately tripped over a box jutting into the doorway. “Hange!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Sorry!” she rushed to where he was standing, Bean hot on her tail._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“What is even in there?” He picked up the rattling box and peered inside._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Those are the old computers and phones. I’m going to put them all on a harddrive this weekend I promise.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________He nodded and set it just inside their room, far enough from the door so he wouldn’t trip on it again._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Thank you!” she kissed his forehead and scampered back to the kitchen, leaving him dazed. He still froze when she did little things like that, it just set his heart racing, like he’d miss something if he moved. He shook his head while he carefully closed the box, she’d get to these when she was ready. He imagined there were a lot of old photos or possibly even writings locked in the old metal. Plenty of the books he’d packed had had little notes scribbled on the pages, like Erwin used to write to her through them. It could be hard to go through; she’d never touched any of it, he wasn’t even certain she knew what was on there._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________He could always do it for her he supposed, then she wouldn’t have to worry about it. He didn’t know, he could at least offer. As long as he could help her he would find a way to do it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


End file.
